sequestration

• Sequestration forces Coast Guard to get creative

  Like many agencies, the Coast Guard continues to feel the effects of sequestration, reducing its operating costs by 25 percent last year. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp talks about where the agency was impacted most and how it worked through the challenges.

  Budget

  March 13, 2014
• Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant, Coast Guard

  Why capturing drug smugglers is becoming harder for the Coast Guard.

  Federal Drive

  March 13, 2014
• Furlough appeals continue to stretch MSPB ‘beyond capacity’

  The Merit Systems Protection Board seeks additional resources in its fiscal 2015 budget request to improve staffing and IT infrastructure. The agency is working through more than 32,000 furlough appeals in addition to its regular workload and also expects a wave of administrative judge retirements.

  Budget

  March 13, 2014
• From furloughs to hiring freezes, how did your agency deal with sequestration?

  In a new report provided to the House Budget Committee, the Government Accountability Office provides more details of just how agencies coped with the mandatory budget reductions under sequestration. Nearly every agency surveyed by GAO canceled or limited monetary performance awards for employees, reduced spending on both travel and training and curtailed hiring. A total of seven agencies furloughed employees.

  Budget

  March 11, 2014
• Air Force to accelerate headquarters staff cuts

  Air Force leaders intend to surpass their share of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's edict to reduce DoD headquarters spending by 20 percent and complete the task several years ahead of schedule. The personnel cuts are part of the service's plan to shrink its size in order to catch up with decades of deferred spending on readiness and modernization.

  Budget

  March 03, 2014
• Key Senate panel to probe federal pay, morale issues

  The Senate subcommittee with oversight of the federal workforce will take up the issue of federal-employee compensation and sinking employee morale. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the subcommittee chairman, said at the National Treasury Employees Union's annual legislative conference that the hearing would focus, in part, on making sure federal pay stays competitive with the private sector.

  Budget

  February 26, 2014
• OMB tells Congress sequestration cuts aren’t needed in 2014

  In a new report to lawmakers, the White House determined discretionary spending fell $2 billion below the Budget Control Act caps.

  Budget

  February 13, 2014
• NOAA cancels hiring freeze, lifts training ban

  Kathryn Sullivan, the acting under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, sent an email to staff today announcing she was lifting the hiring freeze ban on non-mandatory training NOAA put in place last year to offset the impact of sequestration.

  Hiring/Retention

  January 31, 2014
• Budget constraints force Army to make tough choices about modernization

  The Army's senior leaders have made clear for months that their service's end strength will have to decrease as a result of budget pressure. But the cutbacks can't be only to personnel. Some of the Army's major modernization priorities will have to be sidelined, at least for now.

  Budget

  January 27, 2014
• 2014 funding: Agency-by-agency breakdown of spending bill

  With the unveiling of the bipartisan spending bill this week, federal agencies are getting a clearer picture of how much funding they'll get for the rest of the fiscal year. Track which agencies will see sizable increases or which will be getting the short end of the stick.

  Budget

  January 16, 2014
• DoD shields basic research, but other R&D will take serious budget hit

  Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said while the budget agreement adds money back to DoD's overall spending capacity in 2014 and 2015, the deal still doesn't plug holes in the Pentagon's research funding. Kendall estimated R&D funding will drop by as much as 20 percent compared to the department's initial requests.

  Budget

  January 16, 2014
• National Guard worried about growing risk of attrition

  Amid debates about the proper size of the active military versus the reserve component, the National Guard's chief warned his force will lose its best talent if it's not given opportunities to engage in the guard's federal mission.

  Budget

  January 10, 2014
• Army readiness problems will persist through 2020

  Army's top uniformed official said the Ryan-Murray budget agreement is a partial remedy to the difficulties the Army has had in training and equipping its troops. But undoing the damage of sequestration will take at least another six years.

  Budget

  January 08, 2014
• Trends in global defense spending

  Jack Midgley, a director in Deloitte's Global Defense Consulting practice will discuss the findings in the company's recent report on defense spending. January 7, 2014

  Off the Shelf

  January 07, 2014